


Forgotten Realm

by EtrianHexer



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Gen, Giruvegan, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21831415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EtrianHexer/pseuds/EtrianHexer
Summary: The story of how Cid discovered Giruvegan and met Venat.
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on a headcanon of mine that when Cid went to Giruvegan for the first time, he was accompanied by Bergan. The reason for this is that I feel like Bergan is the type of person that in order for him to truly believe in something, he has to witness it for himself. I don't think he would be very impressed with empty drivel. He is also very much like Cid in that he supports Vayne a lot, and he also says the "the reigns of history back in the hands of man" line, which Cid is always saying. This makes me think that the two have spent a decent amount of time together and that Bergan knows the existence of the Occuria. Why else would he think that the reigns of history need to be put back into the hands of man? How would he know of or trust in the concept of the Occuria? He doesn't strike me as a particularly religious or spiritual person; I find it a little difficult to believe that Bergan would believe in something like the Occuria if he only heard Cid talk fanatically about it. Anyway, enough drivel, on with the story.

A regular day in Archades’ weapons laboratory, the lead designer of the empire’s military airships sat at his desk engrossed in papers and metallic trinkets. His work was his biggest passion, the fascination for engines and machinery gleaming behind his eyes ever since he was a child. After having raised three sons, with his youngest currently being 15 years of age, he could start focusing on his work more and more, as the small boys had grown up. On this particular week, the man was awaiting a reconnaissance team to return from a trip to a southern jungle in order to search for ever more powerful magicite to fuel his visions.

In the late afternoon, a knock was heard behind the man’s working room.

“Come in!” shouted the Doctor as he kept tinkering with a small machine at his table. He waited for a moment.

“Oh, right, the room’s soundproof…” he muttered. He got up and went to open the door. He was greeted by one of the laboratory’s workers, a man the Doctor recognized as one of the errand boys who were always being sent from one floor of the big laboratory building to another.

“Here is the report from the recent Feywood recon team, sir.” the man handed a small stack of papers to the Doctor, saluted, and ran off.

The Doctor went through the report carefully. The report included the different magickal readings that were measured around the woods, as well as the types of creatures found, amongst other things. At the end of the handwritten document, the team had concluded that further investigation is necessary. This recommendation of action is what lead the Doctor himself on a trip to the unknown depths of the Feywood the following week.

\--

“Gah, this mist is awfully dense. Was it any better last week?”

“No, I’m afraid not Doctor Cid. It was just as bad then.” replied a woman who was part of the initial recon group. The party had gotten through the humidity and putrid _Malboros_ of Golmore Jungle with relative ease, thanks to the small _rook_ -prototypes (a small drone, fitted with skystone and magicite) that kept the party under a spell of invisibility. Currently, as they carefully sneaked around the horned wolves and the tomato-headed critters, the party was advancing further into the mist laden woods, the mist only ever growing thicker as they went on, much to the chagrin of Doctor Cid.

“I knew I should’ve pursued that mist-absorbing magicite -project all along.” muttered the Doctor.

“We can make it further in relatively simply, so don’t worry sir. Thankfully the mist doesn’t affect compasses.” commented the woman.

The party sneaked past a group of mirror-scaled _Bagoly_ , their reflective bodies glowing from the light of the mist. Some distance away, a stone monument comprised of dark gray stone could be seen.

“Did you encounter those previously?” asked Cid from the woman walking by him, pointing to the structure.

“Hm?” the woman followed the Doctor’s gaze and continued: “Ah, no, I don’t think we noticed anything of the like. I’m not sure we came this far, or if we did, we might’ve gone a different way…”

As the group approached the monument, the party leader who held the compass and who was a few steps ahead of the others, signaled for a halt. He gave a sign with his hands and came back to the group. He then pointed to go the opposite direction. After the stone structure was barely visible from where they were standing, the leader, a lesser judge, told the rest: “There were a few _Behemoths_ prowling the inside of the monument. We can wait and see if they leave, or we could try fighting them.” the judge gave Doctor Cid an expectant look.

“Do you think we could take them?” asked Cid.

“With careful preparation, yes. Behemoths are weak to ice, so as long as we keep up faith on the mages and protect on the front, we should be fine.”

The Doctor nodded and responded: “I say we go for it then.”

The party was composed of a front-line; a hoplite judge (the party leader) and an imperial swordsman, and the back-line; an imperial magus, the female laboratory researcher who knew some black magic and Doctor Cid who had a _Spica_ as his gun of choice fitted with _Mud Shot_ ammunition.

As the group started approaching the band of Behemoths, as they raised their weapons, the safety curtain of the _vanish_ spell fell. They kept their distance at first, so that the mages could have extra time to chant and aim their spells. The moment the first bit of ice pierced the tough skin of one of the beasts, the party was noticed and promptly approached by two other behemoths surrounding the now hurt one. The bipedal carnivores brandished their inhumanly big blades, which showed much wear and tear; the blades were chipped, the sharpness sure to fluctuate between deadly and dull. The beasts stomped their way forward until they were stopped by the swordsman and hoplite, both with a sword and shield in hand.

With careful aiming, the Doctor landed a few good shots on the Behemoths, even managing to proc the blindness effect of his ammo on one of them. The mages kept their distance while keeping up the onslaught of freezing icicles, the front-line blocking and parrying to the best of their ability. Unbeknownst to the group, the first Behemoth that was struck had hung back behind the two other behemoths for more reason than simply being injured. After recovering, it chugged a container of _Bacchus’ Wine_ , energizing itself, after which the beast threw the container, breaking it on the pure white ground.

As the berserked Behemoth ran to the party, only one other beast still stood; the imperial magus had landed a heavy _blizzaga_ through the back of one of them. The furious beast leaped and struck its blade towards the hoplite, who barely in time stuck his shield out to protect himself. Immediately after, the Behemoth struck another blow, and another, eventually managing to knock out the judge’s shield. The brief bit of panic that hit the man as he saw his protective bit of gear fly a few meters away was more than enough for the behemoth to land a proper strike on the man. The hit knocked the man down on the ground and before the beast could lay another beating, a shot hit its face, briefly making it recoil.

“Concentrate on the berserked one!” shouted the imperial swordsman as he was still struggling with the other Behemoth.

Now aggravated by Doctor Cid’s gunshot, the berserked Behemoth had set its target anew. Jumping over the hoplite, it sprinted toward the Doctor, raising its blade. Cid aimed another shot at it, but it had no effect of slowing it down. The female researcher cast a _blizzara_ its way, which did slow it down somewhat, but the beast still kept going. Another shot aimed at its hand lost its mark, a sense of urgency now rising within Doctor Cid. He had to dodge its attack, lest he be sliced in half. The Doctor turned to sprint in the other direction, hoping to get some distance back, but the acceleration needed to gain actual space could not be reached that quickly.

“DUCK!” shouted the researcher. Quickly diving against the ground, the Doctor managed to dodge a swipe of the beast’s blade that seemed to have been aimed at the Doctor’s head. Cid crawled forward and rose back on his feet. Turning back around and peeking at the beast revealed it had fallen asleep right on its feet. In the background could be heard as the other Behemoth was slain and as it fell to the ground. The hoplite had recovered his stance and ran behind the still asleep Behemoth, stabbing the beast through the back. Blood spilled as the hoplite withdrew his sword, the beast collapsing on the ground.

All the Behemoths now slain, the party was panting in a mix of exhaustion and adrenaline rushes.

“Thank the Gods I noticed they were susceptible to sleep.” said the imperial magus.

\--

The group went to inspect the monument after taking a moment to heal. The floor of the structure was glowing a faint white, the six openings around the sides filled with illusionist mist. The Doctor kneeled down to inspect the floor, an ancient text inscribed on it. He moved his hand on the indentation, tracing it, before he rose back up. He looked at each of the six entrances while standing quite near to the center of the platform. Immediately he noted that one of the entrances wasn’t quite like the others.

“Come and stand here.” he said to the others. They all went to stand next to the Doctor, and a few ah’s were exclaimed.

“That should be just an illusion, I think. I noticed how the mist is gathered around these monuments, it has to be some visual effect the mist is creating.” said the female researcher.

“Should we approach it?” asked the Doctor.

“I’ll try it.” said the swordsman. He walked towards and through the illusion, going outside the monument. He took a moment before he came back behind the illusion, saying nothing seemed to have happened. Then Cid went forward and did the same.

“Let’s keep going this way.” he said. And so they did.

Soon enough they came across another stone structure that looked the exact same. They did what they did at the previous location, and eventually after passing through plenty more stone structures, they came across an impenetrable wall. On it, they found more of the same ancient writing, the text unfortunately lost on them. As the party inspected the wall, Cid asked if they should measure the frequency of the wall. Maybe it was bound by magicks, he reasoned. Nodding, the researcher took out a device which had a few tuners and knobs and pointers. An antenna of sorts was extended at the top, which was then pointed against the surface of the wall. The knobs and pointers responded to the antenna’s readings, giving the researcher an idea of what they were dealing with.

“Hmm… Let me compare these really quickly…”, she took out a small notebook out of her pack, flipped some pages and compared the readings on the device to the frequencies written in her notes.

“It… seems to be quite close to pyro-fire frequencies… It falls somewhere between _firaga_ and _Flare_.” she said.

“I don’t know if it could be replicated… Nor do we know how or if the wall will even react.”

“I could try a firaga.” proposed the magus. The researcher nodded.

“We should try it from somewhere afar.” The group went back and situated itself behind a rock. The magus concentrated and cast a strong flame across the surface of the wall. But nothing seemed to happen.

“There has to be some way to open it.” insisted Doctor Cid. The group stayed silent as they all seemingly waited for the Doctor to finish his ponderings on what they should do next.

…

Cid looked upwards at the sky and took out his pocket watch. The sky had darkened a shade, and the others too, took a look at their watches.

“We should start heading back.” stated the hoplite.

“Suppose we’ll just have to come back another time…” muttered the female researcher.

\--

Back safe on Archadian territory, Cid had requested notes on the readings they had gathered. Before heading home, he went to his office and dropped the papers off.

When he arrived home, it was already quite late. In the living room, his youngest son Ffamran was lounging on the couch. His back rested against the armrest, legs spread forward on the seats, and in his hand he was holding a notebook, skimming over the pages.

“Good evening.”

“You sure had a long day at work. Oh, wait, you had that excursion today, right?” asked the Doctor’s son.

Cid chuckled: “I haven’t had that much exercise in months. We had a rook which I’m glad didn’t malfunction, but we did still take out a few behemoths.”

Cid went to the kitchen to fix himself a cup of tea and a small snack. After he came back to the living room, Ffamran had set the notebook down on the living room table and he had moved to make room for his father to sit.

“Still busy cramming, hm?” asked Cid as he stirred his tea with a spoon.

“Some things just don’t want to stay in one’s head. I can’t wait to never study law ever again.”

“You’ll make it.” Cid patted his son’s shoulder encouragingly.

After finishing his late night bite of food, Cid went to bed, bringing the long day to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff written in cursive is basically game lingo.


	2. Chapter 2

In the following days of the discovery of the wall hidden in the Feywood, Cid had put in a request to hopefully get the assistance of a more powerful band of Archadia’s judgeship for whenever they would be able to try to get through the wall. As the matter was being processed by the higher ups, Cid and his team started to develop prototypes capable of matching the magical frequency of the wall.

A week went by. The magickal frequency replicator, as the team had named it, was well under development, and the group expected to finish it by the end of the month. Also that week, Cid got confirmation that he would be given an elite team of judges to accompany him, and if they had time to spare, a Judge Magister could also come along.

As the frequency replicator was completed, the Doctor started preparing for his second reconnaissance mission, this time deciding to bring a few different types of ammo as well as a _Ring of Renewal_ he had once received as a gift from his sons. The party was set to leave early morning, as spending the night in the Feywood was extremely dangerous. They would fly an _Atomos_ from Archades to the Ozmone Plain, near to the entrance to Golmore Jungle. From Golmore they would then go by foot to the deepest reaches of the Feywood.

Cid had risen with a slight ache in his back that morning, the sun barely even halfway up the horizon.

After making sure he had everything he needed, the Doctor made his way to the private Airship landing platform in the Royal Palace. There he was greeted by a group of three judges. A magus, a hoplite and a swordsman. The airship was waiting with its door wide open behind them.

“So, are we all ready to go?” asked Doctor Cid. The magus nodded and continued:

“Yes, Judge Magister Bergan is already waiting inside the ship.”

“Judge Bergan, hmm? I’m quite honored to have him onboard.” replied the Doctor as he went in the ship.

Judge Magister Bergan was already sat at the co-pilot’s seat, his helmet resting on the ground next to his feet.

“Good morning, your Honor.” greeted Cid with a slight nod as the man came into view.

“Good morning, Doctor.” said Bergan as he looked at the Doctor with a neutral expression.

“I know the request I sent was responded to with saying they might spare me a Judge Magister, but I wasn’t sure they were being entirely serious.” Cid set down his things and sat down at the pilot’s seat, turning the small aircraft on.

“Well, I’m sure you know my department hasn’t seen much use lately. In fact, I’m glad to finally get some real action in for once. Too many fights in the past months have been nothing but sparring.”

Cid chuckled in response: “I am glad to be able to give your Honor the opportunity.”

It took nearly an hour to reach their landing spot. As they hit the ground, the party prepared themselves, checking their equipment. Cid put on the Ring of Renewal while Bergan made sure his blades were in perfect shape. Cid was also the one carrying all the research equipment, as the rest of the party had to be free to make full use of their combat prowess.

The entrance to the jungle emanated of humidity and of strong creatures, Bergan impatiently swinging his blades in anticipation.

“I suppose you wouldn’t want to just sneak by all the monsters, would you, your Honor?” asked Cid as they stepped through the threshold of the jungle.

“Hah! To think you would even dare suggest the way of the coward! Nay, offense is the best defense.” replied Bergan with an arrogant, yet a somewhat playful tone.

Cid had brought the same _rook_ he had with him the last time. For now, he supposed it would just have to stay in his pack.

\--

The monsters in the jungle didn’t stand a chance as Judge Bergan’s blades came down upon them. The Judge Magister’s moves were fluid but graced with a savage strength and will. A line of dead _Coeurls_ and _Hellhounds_ was left behind by the group as they reached the Feywood. And as the party continued onwards, more dead monsters joined the fray.

After some time, the group reached their destination.

“So that’s it?” said Bergan and pointed at the menacing magick-bound wall.

“Yes, it certainly is.” said Doctor Cid as he put his pack down to pull out the magickal frequency replicator from it. The device looked quite similar to the frequency reader which was used to read the wall previously; there were a number of pointers and knobs that were to be set to the wished frequency levels, after which an antenna at the top would transmit said frequency.

Cid took a look at his notes to make sure he had done everything correctly before hitting a switch on the side of the console. After a few seconds, the Doctor went to place the device against the wall in such a way that the tip of the antenna was touching the surface of the wall.

And then they waited. One could see how the device’s antenna had changed colors and how the mist around it started to swirl, a spiraling haze of crimson surrounding it. They stood still for a few minutes; Cid staring intently at the device, Bergan starting to get antsy and in turn staring at the Doctor, and the three other judges observing their surroundings making sure no enemies came to disturb them.

At around the ten-minute mark, the door finally started to respond. A light emanated from it, the ancient machinery slowly twisting and revealing a way forward.

“Yes!” exclaimed the now very excited Doctor. Once the mechanics of the wall stopped, he ran to grab the device –“Ah, hot!” but he promptly put it back on the ground. Instead then he gazed through the entrance that had opened. Bergan quickly followed at the Doctor’s heel, then passing by him, gazing too to the other side.

The path was laden with a beautiful blue crystal and gray stone floor, the bad visibility of the Feywood also now completely gone.

When the device had cooled down enough to be picked back up, the party stepped into the newly uncovered realm. Behind his helmet, Bergan was grinning in excitement, eager to test his mettle against enemies that were sure to be new and unique to this location. And on the other side Cid was grinning with enthusiasm for what new technology and knowledge would await him here.

To the group’s delight, there was a convenient teleport crystal just a few ten meters in. As everyone was taking the time to heal, Cid immediately took out a notebook and scribbled what were most likely observations of the environment. The crystal path they were standing on was surrounded by water, and in the horizon one could see an ancient cityscape. There was a heavy layer of mist still encompassing the area, so no one could really say if what they saw was real, and what, if any of it, was an illusion.

\--

After recuperating, the party continued walking further into the realm. Soon after, they were greeted by a teleport-device. Cid was the first to approach it, automatically assuming to activate it.

“Wait, shouldn’t we look around a bit more first?” asked the hoplite.

“We don’t know where that will take us.” he continued.

“Well do you see anything else of interest?” replied Cid. The hoplite quickly glanced around.

“I suppose not…”

The party gathered around the contraption, Cid reaching forward to activate it. A bright light surrounded the group for just a second, before they were standing elsewhere. They were still seemingly nearby, as the scenery was the same. A short distance away, however, a still stone statue of a type of _Dullahan_ was planted. Judge Bergan was the one to approach it first, the hoplite trying to stay by his heel.

After stepping past some unseen threshold, the statue came to life. It grabbed its blade that was struck into the ground, then swung it back and forth in an attempt to intimidate the intruders.

Bergan was immediately dashing at the creature, the hoplite hastily casting a protect-spell on him. The Dullahan parried the Judge’s attack, then taking a few steps back to attempt casting _haste_ on itself. During this opening, the swordsman lunged and swung his sword at the guardian, landing a good strike on its surface. Bergan continued with the good momentum and struck another blow on it, which made the creature counter with summoning stalagmites of ice around itself. This made both the judge and Judge Magister recoil, the twosome feeling the piercing cold through their armor.

The magus and Doctor Cid kept their distance; Cid shooting with his trusty Spica, and the magus testing to see if the creature had an elemental weakness that could be taken advantage of. The hoplite, who was between the front- and backlines, made sure that the swordsman and Judge Bergan were buffed up with _protect_ and _shell_ , while also casting _cura_ whenever necessary.

As the guardian statue lost health, its attacks only grew in intensity. Its strings of blade swings hastened and strengthened, with Bergan eventually only blocking its attacks, not being able to find a good opening to strike. And as the swordsman went in to strike from behind, the creature would charge up an area-of-effect attack, effectively knocking back both Bergan and the swordsman. The magus and Doctor Cid were the ones left who could still score consistent hits, which they did very effectively. Eventually a well-aimed _shock_ from the magus brought the creature down.

The party was exhausted, both Judge Bergan and the swordsman especially so. The swordsman seemed more than happy when they retreated to the teleport crystal, but within Bergan one could sense his mood rising, the adrenaline of the field of battle invigorating his spirit.

\--

After healing once more, they activated the teleport-device again, bringing them back to the familiar battlefield, where the Dullahan statue now stood silently off to the side. Right next to it was another teleporter which had appeared after the statue’s defeat. Cid and Bergan eagerly walked up to it, the three other judges following the twosome.

With the reach of his hand, the Doctor activated the teleporter, bringing the party into a whole another stratum.

The familiar blue stone continued forming the ground on which they stood, but otherwise they were clearly in what looked like a huge temple or catacomb. The lighting was somewhat dim, the air still glutted with mist. A passageway of stone leading downwards into unknown depths.

Doctor Cid admired the curious architecture. Judge Magister Bergan on the other hand found his gaze locked on a distant group of Behemoths. The hoplite seemed fidgety, the swordsman looked around and the magus stood still.

After having his fill of admiring, the Doctor exclaimed:

“Let’s keep going, shall we?”

Judge Bergan happily lead the group forward, his mind surely concentrated on the best way to attack that group of Behemoths he had spotted.

\--

They ascended down a few ramps, until they came across a mechanical contraption of sorts. Again, Cid was the first to the device, the Judge Magister being busy finishing off an _imp_ a few meters away. The hoplite kept close to Judge Bergan, so he didn’t have time to voice his concerns of activating unknown devices.

“It seems to be a switch or lever of sorts…” mumbled the Doctor to himself. He felt the handle gently, while inspecting the machinery carefully with his eyes, looking it up and down. Then he pulled the lever down.

…

“Did anything happen?” he wondered aloud.

The group continued further down, discovering along the way that the machines disabled magickal walls that stood in their way.

\--

“Is this it? We came all the way down and there’s nothing here but the same monsters as in the Feywood?!” complained Bergan. The party had come all the way down the ramps of blue stone, and now it seemed that there was nowhere to continue.

“No, there must be something we’re missing.” assured Cid. The Doctor stood still, trying to think if they missed anything along the way. Then he went to the edge of the platform, looked out at the distance, at the bright lights and the giant stone floating in the middle. He paced around. Then the magus also started to walk towards the edge of the abyss. He gazed upwards, straining his neck, and then he looked downwards.

“What are those lights down there?” he questioned and pointed at a line of bright green lights leading further into the temple. Cid walked next to the magus and looked at the lights. The twosome pondered in silence, and while they did, Judge Bergan had noticed a loose piece of stone on one of the walls. He nudged it free and went to the magus and Doctor.

“Shall we at least see just how far of a fall this is?” he said and flung the stone with all his strength at the empty ravine. Except the rock bounced right off. The rock had hit an invisible platform, and now it lay on the green circle that it had conjured. The Doctor stood with his mouth agape, the Judge Magister also being quite flabbergasted at what was only an action done out of boredom and disappointment.

“Good work your Honor!” beamed Doctor Cid.

The group, now lead by a very enthusiastic Doctor Cid, walked across the empty abyss atop the green circle path.

The path lead to another set of blue stone rampways. Which lead to another invisible road of green circles.

Then the party found itself passing by an intricate door, behind which they found a save crystal. As the group healed and took a small break, the Judge Magister came to voice his displeasure at the monsters they had encountered.

“We have only seen THREE types of fiends here. And all of them have been types that are already common in other places! Would it not make sense that in a place as remote as this there would be a very unique assortment of enemies?” he reasoned. Doctor Cid turned his gaze to look at Bergan.

“Maybe that means that this place isn’t all that disconnected from the rest of the world then?” he suggested with a slight shrug.

“I don’t really know though. I’m no expert on the topic.” continued Cid.

Bergan merely hmphed in response.

\--

The party continued. They went past another set of doors, behind which there was another, somewhat smaller in scale, set of ramps and platforms formed of gray and blue stone. After they rose to the middle of a platform, a familiar line of green lights led deeper into the abyss. As usual, they followed it. At the end of it they saw a teleporter sitting in the middle of a big green circle, a circle bigger than what they had seen yet.

And as the Doctor had slightly jogged ahead to inspect the teleporter, a distant rumbling was heard approaching the group. Behind them, an _Aevis_ with black scales and red wings ran straight at them along the green circle path. The beast slowed down and stopped before it would’ve tripped on the teleporter, then let out a magnificent roar, signaling the start of a battle.

As previously, the party formation was that Judge Bergan and the swordsman were up front, the hoplite stood in the middle buffing the front, and Doctor Cid and the magus kept their distance. Quickly enough, the magus figured out its weakness, while the front kept the Aevis busy. The magus exhausted his magick resources quickly as he kept up the barrage of blizzagas. And not too soon after:

“…Wait. I can’t concentrate.” the magus tried to calm his mind and again attempted to _charge_ his MP.

“…It’s not working!”

“What is it?” asked Cid who came up to the magus, noticing his companion’s distress.

“I…”, it seemed he attempted to perform some action once more, but nothing happened.

“I can’t use my technicks!”

Cid reached for his pack, most likely to retrieve an ether, but an oppressing sense of gravity slowed his hand. The heavy air pulled both the Doctor and the magus down to their knees, which was immediately followed by a sense of relief as a cura soothed over their bodies.

“Keep yourselves healed up! The gravity spell depletes your stamina very quickly otherwise!” shouted the hoplite at the pair.

Cid managed to give the magus a few ethers, which thankfully was enough for the Aevis to be defeated.

\--

The party went back and healed around the save crystal for one last time, before heading off to activate the teleporter which was protected by the Aevis.

Again, their surroundings changed; they now stood atop a familiar green circle supported on top of a stone platform, a bright light reflected along yellow crystalline walls lighting the area. As they took in the new landscape, they found two ways to go. Technically three, but the third was cut off by a transparent magickal wall which they could not pass.

The party decided to take the south-western path. It led to another similar clearing, though the platform was teeming with a variant of the _Coeurl_ -family. There were four felines prowling back and forth, the party spying their movements to gain an advantage. Bergan led the charge, followed by the hoplite this time around. The swordsman tried to come in from a different angle to try and pincer a few of the Coeurls.

As swiftly as the threesome managed to take down two of the monsters, the other two Coeurls readied their technicks. With a quick and silent gaze, one Coeurl petrified the hoplite. Unnoticed by the others at first, the hoplite stood frigid and unmoving until the monsters were all defeated. The magus was the one to notice his companion not moving, but as he knew _esuna_ , the hoplite was brought back to his normal state soon enough.

Continuing further south, the group came across another teleporter, which they promptly activated.

Eventually, after passing by a few more platforms and a switch with the zodiac sign of Cancer, the group came across a flock of _Bombs_.

“We should be careful around those. Bombs are known to blow up in a chain reaction, which might just wipe us all out at once if we’re not careful.” warned the magus before Judge Bergan had a chance to run off and engage the monsters.

“Then we just have to take them out in a single hit, yes? Heh, simple enough.” chuckled Bergan as he started to saunter onwards.

The Judge Magister swung his blades at one of the Bombs, but it just managed to dodge out of the way.

“Get back here you!” grumbled Bergan. This particular type of Bomb seemed like the flighty type, its movements were a touch more erratic than the ones the magus and swordsman had encountered before.

The front line seemed to hold themselves off quite well despite the slippery enemies, but as they fought, another monster was on its way to creep up on the unsuspecting back line. A _Ghost_ jumped on the magus from behind with a slap of its tendrils, knocking the magus off balance whilst he was preparing an incantation. Doctor Cid turned his head and noted the Ghost, turning his gun to take a shot at it. This made the two groups separate into two different battles; Judge Bergan, the hoplite and the swordsman trying to catch the Bombs and Doctor Cid and the magus trying to subdue the surprise guest Ghost.

This is where some trouble started arising.

The bombs had grown in size as they had been struck, and as the front couldn’t manage to land a proper hit, they couldn’t quite finish them off. The Bombs required the precision of a gun or a spell to defeat them. On the other front, the ghost quite liked to flee a few meters away after being hit, drawing the back line ever further away from the front line.

Then finally, one of the Bombs blew up. The swordsman had tried one last time to land a finishing strike on one of the Bombs, but he only scraped its side: thus, just as the magus had warned, a massive chain reaction of explosions started. The hoplite threw himself in front of the Judge Magister to guard him from guaranteed burn injuries, and the swordsman, as he was the closest to the bomb that started the chain of explosions, was seared with a hot flame and knocked back by the force of the explosions.

As the mess on the front line was unfolding, the Ghost, with its last ounce of strength, fired off a spell which sound could be likened to one’s soul getting snapped in half. Soon after hearing the sound, Cid noticed the magus had slumped and fainted on the ground. The Doctor hurried to his companion’s side, kneeling down.

As the Bombs were done self-destructing, Judge Bergan looked around and noticed Doctor Cid and the magus, the Ghost still lingering around a small distance away. He sprinted up to them, and as the clanking of his armor got louder, the Ghost retreated. As the Judge Magister came to stand by the two, he looked back at the platform on which the Bombs had blown up on. The hoplite’s armor had heated, so he begun stripping it off to cool down. The swordsman, on the other hand, was laying on the ground: his armor had just slightly melted from the fire. Looking from where Cid and Bergan stood, one could say that he could still be alive. But the reality was that he had not made it. The knockback had sent him flying back a few meters, and unfortunately, he had landed head first on the ground. On further inspection, one could also find out that his chainmail which he wore under his regular armor had melted onto his clothes and skin.

The hoplite was the one to inspect the swordsman’s body after a small moment of respite, and as he withdrew his hand from the swordsman’s throat, his expression fell, silently mourning. Meanwhile, Cid and Bergan had started digging through Cid’s pack to search for a tuft of _Phoenix Down_ to use on the unconscious magus.

But just as they thought the worst was over, which technically it was, the Ghost decided to make a comeback. He manifested out of thin air in front of Cid and Bergan, making the two immediately scramble to stand up, Bergan reaching for the blade at his side. He swung at the Ghost and landed a good strike, making the Ghost recoil backwards. Cid hurried to go through his belongings in his pack while standing, the Judge Magister covering for him as best as he could.

The Ghost retreated back again, Bergan charging after it. But before he could land the finishing blow, the Ghost had just managed to multiply itself, leaving another one of its kind behind before dissipating into thin air.

The hoplite, who was only wearing his sabatons, gloves and chainmail, noticed the Doctor and Judge being tormented by the Ghost as he waited for his main chest piece and helmet to cool.

The Ghost was no match to Judge Bergan’s prowess, and soon it was brought onto its last legs. Again, like its predecessor, it teleported a short distance away and begun multiplying. But when it teleported, it left Judge Bergan’s sight entirely. He whipped around to look behind him, and lo and behold, the Ghost had moved itself right next to the vulnerable hoplite, who was now attempting to create some distance between himself and the monster. This wariness of the hoplite gave the Ghost apt time to finish multiplying.

As Bergan ran off to chase the Ghosts hopefully for the last time, Cid sighed in relief as he saw the glimmer of a red feather at the bottom of his pack and used the Phoenix Down on the magus. The magus stirred, and slowly sat up, clearly very exhausted.

The Ghost that was weakened by Bergan teleported around the group, avoiding all the hits that it could while attempting to further create clones of itself.

After the magus had healed himself up, he again heard the familiar sound of _Death_. This time it had struck the hoplite.

“Is there no end to these damn things!” swore Bergan in frustration.

The group had gathered together at the edge of a pathway, and behind them on another platform one could see the faint outline of a teleporter.

“We should retreat and try to get to the next platform! I can see a teleporter on it!” shouted Doctor Cid to the now exhausted Judge Magister who was still running after and trying to catch the Ghosts.

“What and just leave them here!?” he shouted back and motioned towards the hoplite’s body with his blade. The swordsman’s dead body lay on the ground as did the unconscious hoplite’s.

“It’s too risky to stay here!” continued Cid. The Judge Magister stilled for a second and lowered his head in an angered manner, tightening his grip on his swords. Then he bolted towards the platform which Cid had referred to, the magus and Doctor following on his heels.

\--

They had reached the teleporter and activated it without trouble. The whole party, which was now reduced to three, was thoroughly spent and they all agreed to take a moment to properly rest.

Amidst a drink of a potion, Cid gauged his companions’ mood. Bergan was admittedly quite aggravated and the magus tried to stay as cool and collected as he could, in which he succeeded fairly well.

As the break was nearing its end, Cid took out the rook he had in his pack. Bergan turned to look at what the Doctor was doing and as he caught on, he let out a sigh of resignation. Cid didn’t react to this, he just kept checking the machine to make sure it hadn’t been damaged, before turning it on.

“We should be able to avoid any encounters with this, as long as you don’t aggravate any monsters or attempt casting any spells.” explained Cid. The magus nodded. Bergan simply stayed silent.

“Do you understand, your Honor?” asked Cid.

“Of course.” answered Bergan curtly.

Under the guise of the rook’s spell, the party kept going. They went through a few more rooms, a few more platforms, a few more teleporters and even a save crystal, before they were greeted with a new area. They were standing in a hallway emblazoned with red crystal and dark gray stone, a great door awaiting to be opened a few meters further.

After making sure everyone was still well under the effect of invisibility, the party opened the large stone door. It went up in a rumble, and they walked into a fairly spacious room, which glowed bright colors with a heavy layer of mist. The group took careful steps atop the crystal floor to the other side of the room, at the end of which lay another door that looked identical to the previous.

The air was filled with anticipation, but nothing happened. They made it to the other door and went through it with ease.

One last teleporter stood atop the ground now in front of them. With an extremely anxious mind, the party made its way towards it and activated it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't make them fight Shemhazai because to me the Espers work in a way that the one to defeat it gets to command it. And this doesn't make that much sense, since Ashe's crew is the one to defeat it and gain its power. Also I was at first planning on killing the magus too, since I figured only Cid would know about the Occuria out of the Draklor crew, but it's not like we know how many, if any, people went to Giruvegan with Cid.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Venat’s dialogue is difficult but also kind of fun to write.

As the blinding light of the teleporter dissipated, Cid found himself standing atop a fairly small, circular platform. Below him he could see many other similar structures in the air, and all the way down on what could be surmised as the surface or ground, were many structures built in a style quite foreign to the Doctor. From some of the other floating platforms waterfalls fell down, creating this sort of misty effect in the air that filled the whole space.

Cid whipped his head around in awe, the magnificent architecture truly encapsulating his mind. He looked up and he looked below, and as if in a trance, took a few careful steps forward.

“Child of man. To great lengths you have come, to what ends you seek?”

A voice resonated through the Doctor’s head, a voice like he had never heard before. Cid stayed silent, now searching for the source of the voice. Slowly, mist gathered itself into a stark white being with piercing red dots for eyes. The being floated a meter up in the air directly in front of Cid, awaiting a response.

“I came to seek knowledge.” said the Doctor somewhat warily, though his voice did not waver.

“What would a hume seek to know?” responded the being.

“Something that could hold the power to change the course of history. Something that could truly have an impact on the development of our destiny.”

The being seemed to weigh something on its mind before responding.

“’Tis grand ambition which you hold; and rightly so.”

This response piqued the Doctor.

“What do you mean?”

“For long have we Occuria sat at this Heaven’s throne, gazing over. We oversee all, not a thing escaping our notice.”

Again, Cid was perplexed.

“So you are some sort of… “

“Gods, one could say.”

“But wouldn’t being a God mean more than just ‘gazing over’ things?”

“Exactly. We only not see, we guide. ‘Tis with our guidance has your history been lead.”

“Are you to mean **you** decide the fate of Ivalice?”

“Quite so.”

The Doctor was growing a little confused.

“To what extent? Is there an example you can give?”

“I assume you are familiar with King Raithwall?”

Cid nodded.

“’Twas us who put in his hand the power which he held. The Sword of Kings and the knowledge of a magicite known as nethicite, were all given to him by us.”

Cid stayed quiet to process the information.

“’Twas us who decided he be the one to lead Ivalice into a new morrow.”

Cid took a moment before he responded.

"So, are you to say our destiny is chosen by beings who hide themselves in the deepest reaches of the earth, completely out of touch with the rest who inhabit this land?" the Doctor’s tone was getting more emotional, his words laden with a hint of incredulousness. The being again seemed to think something over.

“Why does this displease you so?”

Cid’s expression tightened.

“It is absurd for us not to have control over our own lives. It disgusts me to think my actions would not have any impact on this world, only because some obscure being decided it that way.”

The being stayed silent another moment, before replying:

“So you would seek the reigns of history in different hands?”

“If what you have told me is the true state of Ivalice, then yes.”

The being seemed to mull things over one last time.

"Then our goals seem aligned. To you, shall I impart all knowledge and to no other. The secrets of the pow'r which we bestow, towards a different destiny marching."

After finishing that last sentence, a bright light surrounded the two, the Doctor bringing his arm up to shield his eyes. When the light went away, Cid, as well as Judge Bergan and the magus, found themselves standing right next to the teleport crystal all the way back at the entrance to Giruvegan.

“What WAS that?” exclaimed Bergan in the Doctor’s direction. Cid seemed a little out of it, as if he was processing information and wondering what just happened.

“I heard you speak with something, but what was it?” asked Bergan. Cid’s eyes focused and looked at Bergan as he answered: “A God, possibly.”

Bergan inquired further: “What did it look like?”

“A stark white body, carved like a…” Cid glanced to his side. He held his gaze there for a few seconds before turning his eyes to look at the Judge Magister again.

“Like a…?” Bergan was slightly alarmed by the Doctor’s sudden change in behavior, as he attempted to get Cid to finish his sentence.

“Ah, carved, carved like a statue.” said Cid. Then he looked again to his side.

“Was it hume?”

“No. More like… a creature, or… well, it’s difficult to describe.”

“…Then what was that about them controlling our destiny?” Bergan continued.

“What I have said is true. And it means exactly so.”

Bergan instinctively put his hand on his blade as he heard the familiar voice ring in his head.

“The fate of man lies in the hands of the few whose Undying nature allows them great reign.” Momentarily, the being showed itself to Bergan, most likely to further convince the man. The magus also looked up in surprise.

As the party settled down, Cid growing ever more absorbed to his own world, they activated the teleport crystal at the gate of Giruvegan and warped to the crystal right at the outskirts of Golmore Jungle, near the path that lead to the Paramina Rift. From there they could easily go through the Jungle and get back to the ship they had parked in the Ozmone Plain.

When they returned to Archades, the magus hailed the two and left their company. Bergan and Cid decided to chat together with the being some more. They learned the being’s name, Venat, and the two humes, though mostly Cid, bombarded Venat with questions. What do they observe? Who do they observe? What is the extent of their powers? What knowledge can they provide? How far are they willing to cooperate? What do they think of Ivalice now? What did they think of Ivalice then?

Before long, time had passed greatly. It was around midnight when Bergan decided to call it a night, but Cid’s enthusiasm provided him extra energy and so he kept the discussion going; he wanted to know as much as possible as soon as possible.

\--

Even as Cid made it to his home at around 1 am, he kept conversing with Venat. His sons were already asleep, so he could still freely talk with the being without interruption.

Finally, at 2:13 am, Cid went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted all these chapters at once because I wasn't even sure if I was going to finish writing this thing. But I did, so here it is. Figured I might as well post it, since I kind of like how it turned out. A part of me wants to try making a sequel that goes into Ffamran seeing his father spiraling down to his nethicite obsession, but we'll see.


End file.
